Should Christians gamble? As the wife of a recovering gambling addict, I have some thoughts...

Donna Rogers, author of The Gambler His Wife And His God, explains why she believes Christians shouldn't gamble.

My unguarded, immediate answer to the question "should Christians gamble?" is "no". My husband was a compulsive gambler. I experienced first hand the damage that gambling can cause to the addict and those around them. In 2005 the Labour government liberalized the gambling industry. Since that time gambling has become endemic in this country. For every problem gambler six other people are harmed by the break up of families, crime, eviction, unemployment mental illness. 

Today we can add to that list the growing numbers of death by suicide. Suicide especially amongst young men is rising year on year as a result of gambling debt. Gambling With Lives supports families who have lost a loved one. They estimate that more than 490 suicides caused by the shame and the helplessness of their addiction are recorded every year. Put simply gambling involves risking something of value for the chance of winning more than was risked. For some that can be their wellbeing or even their life.